The Asia Pacific med-tech industry is expected to grow to $225 billion by 2030. Despite that rosy outlook, the landscape become increasingly challenging as med-tech investment saw a notable downturn since its peak in 2021, with venture financing and M&A deals decreasing by 22% and 37%, respectively, over the past two years.

A spate of year-end collaborations highlights growing enthusiasm for expanding use of automated insulin delivery devices or pumps in management of type 1 diabetes only to include many patients with type 2 diabetes. Beneficiaries include pump makers Tandem Diabetes Care Inc., Insulet Corp. and Medtronic plc as well as the leaders in the continuous glucose monitoring market, Abbott Laboratories and Dexcom Inc.

Dexcom Inc. put real money behind expanding its integration efforts, with a $75 million investment in the $200 million series D for Ōura Health Oy, the maker of the Ōura smart ring. Ōura and Dexcom also provided details on a strategic partnership that integrates data from Dexcom’s continuous glucose monitors with vital sign, sleep, stress, heart health and activity data from the Ōura ring.

A federal jury awarded Insulet Corp. $452 million against Eoflow Co. Ltd., concluding that Eoflow and other defendants stole trade secrets to create the Eopatch, a device with striking similarities to Omnipod, Insulet’s market-dominating tubeless insulin pump.

A U.K. study has uncovered distinctive genetic drivers of type 2 diabetes in South Asians that lead to faster development of complications, the need for earlier insulin replacement therapy and a weaker response to some widely prescribed drugs. That points to the need to refine care pathways. But in addition, the research provides a potent illustration of how the under-representation in genomics databases of people who are not of white European origin can skew results and be a source of discrimination.

Glooko Inc. secured a $100 million series F financing to support expansion of its diabetes ecosystem platform, which integrates information from more than 200 devices on a centralized, digital data platform that simplifies care for patients and clinicians. At the same time, the company reported the appointment of Mike Alvarez as CEO.

Medtronic plc reported a voluntary recall of certain insulin pumps after customers said a single drop, bump, or physical impact could shorten their battery life.

The U.S. FDA cleared Senseonic Holdings Inc.’s Eversense 365, the first continuous glucose monitor to last a full year with a single sensor rather than the 10 days to two weeks typical for wearable sensors such as those offered by Abbott Laboratories and Dexcom Inc.

Dexcom Inc. revealed data from several studies showing significant benefits of its continuous glucose monitoring technology on adults with type 2 diabetes who are not treated with insulin. In one study, 100% of these users made dietary changes after starting to use Dexcom CGM, with 91% feeling empowered to manage their condition and 27% improving medication adherence after six months.

Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region for health care spending, and by 2030 APAC will account for more than 20% of global health care spending, Tom Lawry, managing director of Second Century Tech told the APACMed Forum 2024 conference held in Singapore, Sept 5-6.